


you have seven days

by ZettaSlow



Category: No. 6 - All Media Types, Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Friendship/Love, M/M, Mild Language, Overcoming Struggles, powers, twewy au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2018-12-31 02:28:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12122556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZettaSlow/pseuds/ZettaSlow
Summary: Nezumi didn't ask for much except some chicken nuggets at the local Sunshine Burgers after work at the theater, but the world decides that kind of life isn't one he should live, and spices it up by having the entire building combust in a gas explosion. When next he wakes he and the employee who served him are dead in the living world. Forced to decide between working on his own and dying (again) or trusting in the mysterious man, he sets off to survive the next seven days in order to gain the right to come back to life.(You won't HAVE to have played twewy before reading this but it is potentially confusing without the prior knowledge.)





	1. Day 1 - It's So Wonderful - Start

“Hello, welcome to Sunshine!” 

Shion’s voice was loud in the empty store, with only himself and the lone customer to hear.

Lately, a flu had spread around to younger people in university and some high schools. Shion’s precautions and advice from his friend Safu prevented from catching it, but his coworkers weren’t so lucky. So, he was filling in some interesting late-night shifts.

So far he had come across many college students who walked into the food joint looking rather lost on the inside. There was also some kids who seemed to sneak out to get milkshakes, and middle-aged men and women who dropped in after their own late-night shifts.

He stood at the cash register awaiting the customer's order, an elderly woman, who stood at the counter reading the menu through squinted eyes and thick glasses. She pointed to things on the menu as she shook her head and mumbled to herself continuously as she decided.

Shion’s watch told him it was past 4am. Past the end of his shift. He tapped his fingers anxiously against the side of the register, mentally urging the woman to hurry with her order.

“Alright, I think I’ll have…” the woman finally decided, and Shion typed the order up on the register and moved to make the order as quick as he could. Luck was on his side as the order of choice was one of the easiest to make, a simple hamburger. 

He flopped a patty onto the grill and prepped a bun as it cooked. Shion hurried to take it off to get the customer out, so the meat was on the undercooked side. He reasoned that this old woman came into a fast food joint at 4am was bound to have low expectations. Usually he put care into his fast food cooking, but it was past his shift and after such a long week, Shion didn’t have the heart he had most times.

“Here you go sir, have a wonderful night!” Shion stretched his smile painfully as the woman thanked him. With the store empty, he immediately began to clean up and put away what was left of the food.

_ “The city never sleeps, Shion, there are always last-second customers to serve!” _ Shion’s manager Ryoko instructed during his training.  Shion quickly denied the fact that he would ever do a night-shift. His school work was enormous and he did not function well when tired. Coffee could only do so much, and Shion had a grand caffeine tolerance that didn’t help either.

Shion’s misfortune did bring the fortune of a bit of a considerable bonus in his next paycheck, so he sucked it up and put on his happy face.The last task of the night was to lock up boxes of supplies, like cups and straws, into the storage closet. Even though he rushed through it, he still managed to keep everything in order. Satisfied with his work, he grabbed his stuff as he turned and locked the storage room.

_ Finally, I’m gonna have so much homework to catch up on- _

“I’ll take a number 5.”

“Huh?” 

Shion suddenly realized that there was a man leaning over the counter, casually picking at his nails. his hair was gathered on top of his head in a messy bun. Not one of the cute messy buns, but a messed-up messy bun.

“Oh! Uh, yeah,” Shion stammered and turned toward the kitchen. His mind blanked, but deep in his heart he felt a bundle of irritation.  _ I can only blame myself _ , he thought as he turned on the fryer and grabbed a bag of frozen chicken nuggets,  _ I should’ve put the closed sign up the moment that woman left _ .

  
  


The worker hadn’t given Nezumi any attitude, which amazed him, who personally would’ve kicked anyone out if it was even one minute after closing time. The worker was also someone who Nezumi had never seen doing the night-shift before. Usually it was the manager or some other art student whose hair color changed every week.

Nezumi noted, as he did most nights he came to Sunshine, how form-fitting the uniforms were, especially in the back. The worker wore a hat, with brown hair that curled out from underneath it. Hats on anyone are major hits or misses, and in this case it was the former. Nezumi smirked and glanced at the name tag when the worker returned with the order.

_ Shion _ .

“Here you go sir, thank you for waiting.” Nezumi nodded and grabbed the bag of food. 

While walking out of Sunshine, Nezumi went through his schedule for the next day. He had an early morning workout with his theater group, but he could say he wasn’t feeling well. The flu  _ was _ going around, after all. On the other hand, he also had a show later in the day. But then again, the director was also a pushover, and he might never see this worker again. So, Nezumi decided to wait for the worker,  _ Shion _ , and hook up.

_ Did I even pay for this? _ Nezumi asked himself  as he grabbed a nugget out of the bag.  _ Oh well. _

  
  


“Wait,” Shion said aloud to himself after a minute. His mind was beat, and had delayed realization that he hadn’t collected pay. The man was probably long gone, had known Shion was out of it and taken off as soon as he got the food.

Shion pulled out his own wallet and put the payment in the register.

_ What Ryoko doesn’t know won’t- _

  
  


The ground shook violently underneath Nezumi and a blast of bright orange exploded from behind him. He turned quickly from where he was sitting on a bench. 

Sunshine was in flames, as well as some of the buildings surrounding it. The fires reached high, and burned bright oranges and yellows. It was surreal seeing something so powerful and out of place in the city. 

Another explosion shook the area and Nezumi found himself on the ground. His ears rang and his vision blurred. His body felt heavy, like the grown was sucking him up. 

_ There’s something _ … Nezumi thoughts were slow. He reached his hand up to his chest, where his hands grasped a metal pole that pierced through his body.

In an instant, his mind stopped lagging and caught up to him. Nezumi yelled at the pain in his chest, helplessly grasping at the pole until he could struggle no more.

  
  
  


“A horrible tragedy has taken place last night as a  Sunshine Burgers location experienced a gas explosion. The gas leak and subsequent explosion has caused significant structural damage. In addition, there have been many injuries and one confirmed death.

“Theatre and acting sensation Eve was found outside the building and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police believe that Sunshine was still open when the explosion took place, but any sign of workers have been found yet.”

 

_ Hello!  _ A voice called out.  

_ Before you may continue, you have to pay a toll. _

_ Tell me, _

_ What is most important to you? _

 

Nezumi felt like there was a whirl pool over him that drew in the entire noise of the city and funneled directly into him. The worker across the street having enough of his boss and cussing him out. The drivers yelling frustrations in the early-morning traffic. Students going to school. Friends lying to each others faces. Even words that sounded like thoughts found themselves in his head.

Flowing. Drowning. Suffocating. 

He took deep breaths, willing the pain to ease itself away. Unclenching fist, relaxing shoulders, and then slowly opening his eyes.

Nezumi drew her eyes to the sky, where the sun created dawn for the early-risers. The air chilled him as he found and sorted his own thoughts.

_ I’m in the Scramble Crossing. When did I get here? _

The buildings around him rose high in the air and stood tall. Bright signs and popping advertisements hid the ugliness of the ground city-dwellers walked on. Despite being widely known as a key feature of Shibuya, Nezumi found this particular crosswalk underwhelming.

His focus shifted to an electronic sign showing a news station. ‘Breaking news,’ it read as it showed the scene of a pile of rubble. Nezumi watched the screen coldly. Anger and spite always found a way to provide him with possibilities that seemed impossible, so maybe if he glared more and continue to let his rage fester then he’d wake up in his bed after a good show, as if dying was all some silly dream.

“That’s my fault.” Someone next to him spoke. Nezumi looked over to a man an inch or two shorter than himself. His hair was startlingly white, and small curls blew in soft breeze. It was distractingly loud, and it filled Nezumi’s eye annoyingly. 

“So, I’m in purgatory or something, and you’re my guardian angel trying to guide me to heaven,” Nezumi said flatly. He dug his nails into his palm. The noise of the city began to grow again and close in, increasing Nezumi’s irritation.

“I don’t think that’s true. If I were a guardian angel then you would already be in heaven,” he spoke carefully, putting much consideration into the trivial question at hand. 

“Why are you thinking about it so much?” Nezumi snapped. The man flinched and turned to Nezumi.

Eyes. Red eyes.  _ Huh _ ?

Nezumi couldn’t look away, they eyes sucking him in. Like the city’s noise, the eyes seemingly had an energy of their own that invaded Nezumi. It made him freeze and begin to lose his own thoughts. It was calm but uncomfortably so, like a blanket had been forced around him for comfort but instead there was no room to breathe.

They blinked, and the feeling disappeared instantly.

“What the fuck?” Nezumi questioned. 

“I’m sorry, I really thought I turned the stove off,” the man bit his lip as he watched Nezumi.

It took him a second, but finally it clicked.

“You’re the worker,” he paused, “Shion.”

“Yes, I’m sorry,” he apologized again and Nezumi frowned. Yeah, there was the explosion, but-

“Can a left-on stove really cause a gas explosion?” Nezumi questioned, finding comfort in analyzing the previous situation instead of the current one.

“Oh, um, I know domestic stoves normally don’t in normal situations. Huh. No, not in this case, I only just turned it on. I guess it’s the Sunshine corporations fault, or the health inspector. Or..a gas inspector?” the man rambled with his face scrunched in thought, red eyes narrowed and looking at the ground.

Nezumi looked around again. He noticed something strange. He and Shion stood in the middle of a crowded walkway, yet people were walking around them. That wasn’t strange in of itself, but what was strange was how they were walking and looking. The people looked past them, as if they weren’t even there. They walked around them without ever touching them.

“Hey,” he called and reached out to a passerby. The person continued to walk, not even noticing Nezumi’s attempt to catch his attention. Nezumi  _ had _ touched the man, but it felt more like touching an object. He couldn’t feel any texture to it, but he did feel the person. Didn’t seem like the person felt him.

“Shion shut up and touch someone,” Nezumi commanded and observed as Shion stopped his train of thought and reached out to someone.

“Huh? Hey. Hey!” Shion called out, but there was no response. No one turned to look at them.

Nezumi glared up at the sky. What was going on? Why were he and this random person dead, but still with the living? How was he going to get out of this?

The noise of the city whispered to him and called him forward.

_ You have seven days. _

  
  
  
  



	2. Day 1 - Forebode - End

“What’s your name?”

Nezumi’s body felt hollow. He physically stood and moved, but as if without a proper soul. The world was numb around him, and he ignored Shion’s question.

He didn’t know whether he wanted to follow the strange voice or run away from it. He didn’t know which he was actually doing, his footsteps quickening in pace. Shion pulled on the back of his shirt, and startled Nezumi out of his trance.

“What?” he snapped, turning to face the other man. Shion stared at him expectantly, and Nezumi glared at him. Their eyes met, and neither made to speak.

_How can someone get eyes like that? What the hell?_ Nezumi thought to himself. Those eyes trapped him in again, just like before. Locked in place, and before he knew it, he was speaking.

“Nezumi.”

Blink.

Release.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Shion smiled. Nezumi took a breath, feeling somehow violated of his space.

The city was awake now, more people bustled around on the street and the walkways. Cars pushed together to form the crowd of the morning rush.

For how much Shion stood out, people continued to pass like it was nothing.

Their situation was undeniable. The news said he died last night, but he still felt things dead people should not. Hunger, because the last thing he ate was a few nuggets. Thirst, his throat still dry from the performance. Exhausted, but that was normal after a performance.

A new sensation was in him too; a well of energy echoing inside. It was as though he acquired a new sense, a sixth one. He _felt_ the people and the stores and the restaurants and the subways. A dim awareness that never went away, and beat almost like a drum.

“This is quite the situation we’re in,” Shion commented. He was different than the passerby. He beat differently, a higher pitch.

“It would seem so.”

“‘ _Seven days_.’ That’s so ominous.” Shion walked past Nezumi, his head turning. He was looking for something.

Nezumi didn’t answer him, but he did think about what he said. A voice spoke to them, but it felt weird to call it a voice. He heard it without his ears. Could it be the new sense?

Before he could think about it more, Shion yelped and backed up into Nezumi. He moved to shove him off but he disappeared in an instant. A new sound came to him, this one distracting and irritating. Startled, Nezumi looked around.

Bizarre, colorful, frog-shaped creatures were around him. The upper bodies were very much _frog_. The eyes and the head shape. Even a tongue that sprung out. The lower half, the back legs in particular, were long and had the most color. Pinks and purples streaked against the weirdly jointed legs that seemed impossible to move. Nezumi stared at the frogs, watching them jump around each other. That new sense rattled inside him, a red alarm.

_These are your enemies. They are called Noise._

The voice guided him. Although, he stood frozen for a second more, and a frog on him jumped onto him. Its back legs latched onto him, and in one solid kick, it lept off and launched Nezumi backwards.

“Nezumi, run!” Shion called to him, but like the mysterious voice he felt it resonate in him rather than physically hear it.

He ran. Not because Shion told him to, but because of the pain that now ached in his arm where the frog lept off. He didn’t care if he left Shion behind, he only knew that those things, the Noise, were enemies.

The frogs chased after him. The intensity of their energy decreased as Nezumi ran, until it faded all together. He came to a stop, and rested in an alleyway. He tried to catch his breath, and while his body recovered, his mental gears spurred to life.

If he was dead, why was he out of breath? Why did he still feel pain? Why could he even think about anything? He had some weird new sense, so he’s a ghost now? Weren’t ghost incapable of feeling anything corporeal? To be fair, they couldn’t touch people. Maybe it was all just some messed up purgatory.

Shion was nowhere to be seen, or felt for that matter. It didn’t matter. Nezumi had taken care of himself for most of his remembered life, had stolen wallets, eaten out of trash cans, did underpaid labor. He was strong and capable, and adding another person to that mix would disrupt it completely. Besides, he really didn’t have any obligation to help Shion. He owed everyone nothing, and they owed him the same in return.

Yet, that energy well turned against him. It wanted to pull him up, make him return to Shion. He felt not only a physical ache in his arm, but now a phantom pain ran through him. The feeling vibrated and pulsed inside him. It begged him to go. Without warning, a sharp pain flared in him. He gasped, and his body tensed.

‘ _What the hell is going on_.’

Fighting it, he got up and ran back. The pain became more concentrated and pulled at him, alike to when he woke up earlier. He sensed Shion and stopped, but he was nowhere to be found, yet he was certain Shion was there.

“Shion! Don’t let the frogs hit you!” Nezumi shouted at the air. Really, he had no idea what was going on but the pain was only getting worse, and it was coming from Shion.

“They won’t stop- Ah!” Shion’s voice filled his mind as he panicked. Another sharp pain came, and Nezumi called out again.

“Shion, just run!” Nezumi felt slightly irritated that Shion told him to run yet he hadn’t ran away himself.

Shion began to move, and Nezumi followed despite not seeing him. They didn’t run separated for too long, after a minute or so Shion silently poofed beside Nezumi. It startled him so bad he nearly tripped, but managed to catch himself.

Shion looked just as surprised, and completely face planted onto the cement of the sidewalk. It happened it comedic slow motion. First his eyes widened when he saw Nezumi, then his mouth opened into an ‘o’ and finally _slam_. Nezumi did laugh. It was a spectacular face plant.

“Ugh I don’t know what hurts more,” Shion groaned as he sat up. He moved to get out of the way of passerbys, but realized that they didn’t see him anyways.

“Why the hell didn’t you run. You told me to,” Nezumi asked and leaned against the wall. The pain hadn’t stopped but Nezumi refused to let his guard down.

“Well I was, but then I got a text message and I thought-”

“You were being attacked and you stopped to answer a text.”

“Well, it’s weird. It had to be important,” Shion stated as he opened up his phone. He slid down the wall, and tried to catch his breath. It was easy to tell who the more fit of the two was.

Nezumi thought about what he said. It any other case he would criticize him some more, but he had a point. It _was_ weird. Supposedly, they were dead, but onto the ever growing list of things to contradict that, this was a new one. Who knew the dead had cell service!

He pulled out his own phone. Sure enough, there was a message from around the time they were attacked by the frog Noise. Nezumi’s phone was always on silent, he hated to be bothered, but he doubted that he would realize it was weird for it to go off in the midst of a fight. He would have ignored it regardless, but it would probably hit him later that it was strange. For Shion to think of that during a fight or flight situation, the guy was sharp, but also undoubtedly an idiot.

He tapped the message notification and read the message once, twice, three times. Yet, with each time he read it, it still failed to make sense.

 

**Mission Objective:**

  * ****Form pact with a partner****



**Failure to complete will result in erasure.**

 

“I don’t know what’s going on but I think this means we have to work together,” Shion said from the ground.

Nezumi didn’t answer.

 

* * *

 

Shion felt horrible. His entire body throbbed in an indescribable way. It was like an emotional pain without the emotions. No physical reason, yet there was a distinct ache.

His head did hurt in a physical way. That fall was a rough one, and he was glad his nose hadn’t bled.

In his fleeing  he did manage to catch a look at himself. He barely forced his body to keep moving, despite the shock it gave him. His hair was white, not the brown that never stood out. The scar on his cheek was soft, but also a different texture than his normal skin. His eyes were the most, well, eye-catching thing to him. Sure, the hair would be seen first, but once you saw the eyes, it was hard to look away. Was this why Nezumi was staring at him? Was he unable to look away? Shion felt bad, he hoped he wasn’t that difficult to look at.

Nezumi was nice to look at. His eyes were different than Shion’s. He liked looking at them, and they didn’t unsettle him. His hair, despite the atrocious messy bun he had in Sunshine, was down now and somehow free of knots. It was long, and a nice peaceful color too.  His appearance reminded him of a calm, rainy day.

_How I look is the least of my problems_ , Shion reminded himself. He read the message again as he waited for Nezumi to answer. He was probably just as shocked. It wasn’t normal to be dead but alive.

Shion recalled the things that attacked them. _Noise_ , the back of his mind whispered to him. He told Nezumi that the reason he didn’t run was the phone going off, which was true, but Shion also stood staring at the Noise like an idiot. He felt their danger, felt his body prep him to run away, yet he was captivated by how they looked. Of course, that ended up with him getting a beating that left him bruised all over.

“Nezumi, thank you for coming back,” Shion said quietly. His breathing finally evened out, so he stood up and looked at Nezumi as the other man looked back. He didn’t say anything, but stared unblinking at Shion. Shion turned away quickly, growing self-conscious of his eyes.

“You were being an idiot, why wouldn’t you run?” Nezumi asked, but it lacked any concern.

“I already told you!-” Shion began, but Nezumi laughed dryly.

“So it was alright to check it while being jumped on by mutant frogs.”

“It’s important. And look, I meant what I said a few moments ago. I am thankful you came back. I’m also positive we have to work together!” Shion exclaimed, and walked closer to the man. “The mission objective is all we have right now. Neither of us know what the hell is going on but we’re both thinking the same things, right? Contradictions in our deaths that keep piling up the more we go on. There has to be a way to come back to life. We’re not dead!”

Nezumi remained silent. Shion stared at him expectantly, mentally begging him to agree. At the least, they would be able to work together which was a lot less scarier than being alone.

“Fine,” Nezumi said simply. “Only because my life's on the line too.”

Shion smiled broadly, and held out his hand.

The late-morning sun hit the alleyway at an angle that made harsh differences between the light and shadows. The passersby continued onward in the morning rush, and no Noise was around to bug them either. It was them in this city against things no one would ever think of. Nezumi stepped into the darkness where Shion was, and when their hands shook, a new feeling of power washed over them. Small beams of light flicked around them where their hands met, that lit up the alleyway in shades of blue. It passed in a moment, but with that it was official.

 

_A pact has been made._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uuuuuuuuuhh i'm so sorry this is more than a month later and not even that good, but I am so terrible at starting things and I consider the first two(?) days introduction in this so who knows when the next update will be.  
> But! you can bug me on twitter and if you do I probably will write faster? Probably.  
> https://twitter.com/haiba_alisass  
> Thank you again for the sweet comments on the last chapter!! It really meant a lot <3  
> EDIT 2/20/18: edited this chapter (mostly grammar stuff, nothing much added except some descriptions). Planning on continuing, will explain the mini-hiatus in next chapter. Thank you again for kind comments!!


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